Tag Archives: 10218

While the Pet Shop (10218) is one of my favourite modular buildings, one thing that has always bugged me is the empty rooms in the reddish brown townhouse. So, my challenge to you is to “Complete the Room”, specifically the middle floor:

And, thanks to the support provided by LEGO’s Community and Events Engagement Team, there are a couple of cool prizes to be won!

If, like me, you came out of your dark ages some time after the first modulars were released, you’ve probably pondered this question: Should I “BrickLink” the Cafe Corner (10182) (or Green Grocer (10185), or Market Street (10190), etc)?

The original modular buildings are just stunning, especially the Cafe Corner and Green Grocer. So, for me, the answer was a resounding yes!

Or so I thought.

I made up the big spreadsheet to work out exactly what pieces I had and what I still needed. I put together the wanted lists and started doing a lot of orders from BrickLink. Each little package that arrived was a step closer to being able to build these buildings.

Unfortunately, some of the parts for the original modulars are quite expensive. I didn’t rush out the buy these parts, and looked instead for alternatives.

The only exception to this was the 1×8 bricks in sand green for the Green Grocer. I was lucky enough to buy these for around 50 cents a piece, if I recall correctly. There is no way I would pay $3.00 or more for a single brick! And you don’t have to. For the Green Grocer, you can easily substitute 1×2, 1×4 and 1×6 bricks, which are available in abundance thanks to the Haunted House (10228).

In the end, I never did get all the parts for the Cafe Corner or the Market Street. For the Cafe Corner, I made the following substitutions:

The missing parts are still on my wanted list, but I’m happy to wait as long as it takes to get those parts at what I consider to be reasonable prices.

Why?

Because I realise that while I like the official modular buildings, I would much prefer to build an MOC! I’ve only built the older modulars once or twice, and I broke them up almost as quick as I built them. Unfortunately, I didn’t know that when I first started putting together all those BrickLink orders.

It doesn’t mean I regret what I have spent to date on BrickLinking the older modulars. I get satisfaction out of knowing that I can build them if I want (albeit with substituted pieces) and building these modulars taught me techniques that I can apply to my own modular buildings.